Nevada Legislature Gains National Attention for Approving Universal Education Savings Accounts — First in nation for universal school choice!

Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, May 30, the Nevada Assembly passed Universal Education Savings Accounts (ESA) legislation, sending the bill to Governor Brian Sandoval for signature. The legislation (SB302) gives all Nevada parents unprecedented control over their child’s education, including the right to pick their schools. Patricia Levesque, Executive Director for Excellence in Education National (@Excel_National), issued the following statement:

“Excel National applauds the Nevada Assembly’s bold action to give all parents and students choice in education. Universal Education Savings Accounts are the next generation of school choice in America and Nevada deserves national recognition for blazing the trail to become the first state to offer this program to all children. This is a monumental leap forward in the fight for student-focused policies that allow every child the opportunity to receive a quality education. We thank bill sponsor Senator Scott Hammond for his commitment to providing school choice in Nevada and look forward to Governor Sandoval’s signature on this historic legislation.”

[Ed note: And the really great thing about this new legislation is that it requires accountability on the part of those receiving parent funds from the Educational Savings Accounts. Students getting math and English support will be required to take standardized tests showing they are making acceptable progress using these funds. This is no handout — it’s a chance for alternative education providers to show they really can do better than one-size-fits-all. Thank you, Sen. Hammond, for introducing this legislation and for all the senators and assemblymen who voted in favor of it!]

We Now Offer Accuplacer Tests!

Accuplacer tests are required to place into college English and math courses at UNR, TMCC, WNC, Sierra College, and others. Instead of taking the tests at the college, you may now take them at I-School. $25 per test and results are immediate. Call 775.831.2423 or email admin@ischools.us to make an appointment.

I·School in the News

June 2015: With encouragement from WCSD, I·School earns six-year accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) as a Supplementary Education Program. Translation: any of our hundreds of carefully vetted courses are now transferable to any high school in the nation AND we are no longer limited to offering only courses currently given somewhere in Washoe County School District. That’s actually state law. Yes, students can now take and transfer credit for Japanese, marine biology, and many more. And we still issue diplomas as a satellite of Independence High School in Washington State. Isn’t it nice to have choices?

WASC accreditation was followed by NCAA accreditation in July — important for our students who travel to compete in athletic events.

Blended learning defined: The future of education is here, and it’s called blended learning, combining the best of face-to-face instruction by talented teachers with evidence-based methods of individualized content delivery. Some call it the “mass customization of education,” in that we can now individualize instruction according to student interest and ability — like we customize our computers and cell phones to make them just the way we like them. We call it the best way for students of all ability levels to achieve their personal best. Here’s a great article from the Washington Post to explain the concept:

Here are some recent articles about I-School that highlight how today’s “alternative” form of education is a glimpse of how we will learn in the years to come, thanks to the ability of technology to individualize learning. (Remember when a cell phone was an “alternative” kind of phone?)

Computer Literacy

We now offer a new computer literacy course in Microsoft Office 2010 and 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook) which meets the NV state requirements for graduation. At the end of the course, you will have the option to take any of these exams for official Microsoft Office certification. Please click here to find all of the information necessary to enroll and answer any questions that you may have about the course.

Support I•School when you buy from Amazon!

Here are some frequently asked questions about the Amazon Smile program.

What is AmazonSmile?

AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support your favorite charitable organization every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience asAmazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to your favorite charitable organization. You can choose from nearly one million organizations to support.

How do I shop at AmazonSmile?

To shop at AmazonSmile simply go to smile.amazon.com from the web browser on your computer or mobile device. You may also want to add a bookmark to AmazonSmile to make it even easier to return and start your shopping at AmazonSmile.

Which products on AmazonSmile are eligible for charitable donations?

Tens of millions of products on AmazonSmile are eligible for donations. You will see eligible products marked “Eligible for AmazonSmile donation” on their product detail pages. Recurring Subscribe-and-Save purchases and subscription renewals are not currently eligible.

No, you do not need to register an account with Amazon. Just click through to Amazon from our Amazon button.

How do I select a charitable organization to support when shopping on AmazonSmile?

On your first visit to AmazonSmile, you need to select a charitable organization to receive donations from eligible purchases before you begin shopping. We will remember your selection, and then every eligible purchase you make on AmazonSmile will result in a donation.

The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price from your eligible AmazonSmile purchases. The purchase price is the amount paid for the item minus any rebates and excluding shipping & handling, gift-wrapping fees, taxes, or service charges. From time to time, we may offer special, limited time promotions that increase the donation amount on one or more products or services or provide for additional donations to charitable organizations. Special terms and restrictions may apply. Please see the relevant promotion for complete details.

Can I receive a tax deduction for amounts donated from my purchases on AmazonSmile?

Donations are made by the AmazonSmile Foundation and are not tax deductible by you.

Is this program secure?

Absolutely! All purchases are made through Amazon.com. No account, payment, or order information is collected or processed by us. It’s exactly like shopping directly through Amazon.com, except that we receive a percentage of your purchase when you access Amazon through our website. Free to you, invaluable to us!

What’s the catch?

There are no catches and no extra fees. The shopping experience through Amazon.com is exactly the same as it would be if you went to Amazon directly. But if you access Amazon by clicking on the Amazon button on our website, we get a percentage of your purchase.

Can I share this program with my friends/family?

Absolutely! Anyone can earn funds for us by simply clicking through toAmazon.com from the Amazon button on our site and shopping – so be sure to tell friends and family about this great program fromAmazon.com and to start shopping here first!

I’m registered with eScrip, do I need to shop Amazon.com from this page?

Here, the Amazon link is coded to earn for eLearning Cafes, Inc./ISchool, anonymously, so while we earn the same contribution, it will not be part of your eScrip account. If you would rather earn in your name, you should visit the eScrip Online Mall at eScrip.com and accessAmazon.com from there.

What is Blended Learning?

Have you ever wondered what Blended Learning really is, where it came from or maybe even why is it becoming an ever more prevalent word in society?Well, it is more than just a word, it’s a style of learning that in our opinion is a HUGE benefit to many students out there who have found that neither the conventional school system nor the entirely online system works for them. Here is a Wikipedia page all about Blended Learning. Hopefully this helps everybody to more easily understand just what it is that we do and offer. The video on the home page is a good introduction, too.

Interested in helping us grow?

Your support is always greatly appreciated. Below are a few easy steps that you can help us grow.

1) Write! Submit a testimonial on our website, add your rating to greatnonprofits.org, or send us a short letter about the value of I&middot;School to Northern Nevada. Your experiences help tremendously with our efforts to obtain grants to provide scholarship support to part-time and full-time students.

2) Buy! Shop at Raley’s or Amazon and a portion of your purchase goes to I&middot;School. Sign up for the Raley’s “Something Extra” or Amazon “Smile” program, please designate eLearning Cafes/I&middot;School as one of the organizations youwould like to contribute to through your purchases. Call or stop by and we will be happy to show you how to set it up.

3) Sign up! Get word of newsletters, workshops and events by signing up here.

4) Fix! Need help with learning how to use, fix or update your computer, phone or tablet? Want to learn how to use Microsoft Office, Photoshop, or many other software packages? Let one of our students work on it with you under teacher supervision in return for a donation to I&middot;School. It’s great career training and they are very good at it.

5) Donate! We are a 501c3 not-for-profit educational organization, and your donations are tax-deductible. You can use the red tab on the left hand side of your browser window to do such!

We also meet with our Reno and Carson students at South Valleys Library, 15650 Wedge Parkway, Reno, Tuesday and Thursday, 9-4.

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Twitter: ischools_us

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Learn about Education Elements and high level concepts of blended learning.

This RSA Animate was adapted from a talk given at the RSA by Sir Ken Robinson, world-renowned education and creativity expert and recipient of the RSA's Benjamin Franklin award. The RSA is a 258 year-old charity devoted to driving social progress and spreading world-changing ideas.